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The 2020 South Pacific Passive House Conference is slated for May 28–31 in Sydney next year. Co-hosted by the Australian Passive House Association (APHA) and the Passive House Institute of New Zealand (PHINZ), the event will take place at the Roundhouse at the University of New South Wales’ (UNSW) campus in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. “We […]
Presenters are being sought for the IOR International Rankine 2020 Conference in Glasgow, Scotland – Advances in Cooling, Heating and Power Generation. The conference has been scheduled to coincide with the bicentenary of the birth of thermodynamics pioneer William Rankine. It will also take place at the University of Glasgow, where he was based. The […]
Prominent HVAC industry identity Sean Treweek, F. AIRAH, has been named CEO of Meinhardt Australia. A former national president of AIRAH, Treweek boasts considerable experience acquired over two decades in roles with WSP Lincolne Scott, NDY and others. “Sean brings with him over 20 years’ experience in the property, construction and infrastructure engineering sectors and […]
Is there a battle of the sexes when it comes to office air conditioning? And do men and women really work more efficiently at different temperatures? Certainly decades of anecdotal evidence and arguments about dress codes and set-points suggests men and women have different ideal temperature preferences at work. Now a new German study does […]
Australian building services and sustainability practice Umow Lai is joining Integral Group, a global network of mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineers, energy analysts, commissioning authorities and sustainability consultants. Founded in Melbourne in 1991 by George Umow and Dominic Lai, M.AIRAH, Umow Lai has grown to become a leading multi-disciplinary building services engineering, fire engineering, ICT […]
Air conditioning, refrigeration and building services industry professionals are invited to submit abstracts for seminars, panels, and workshops to be delivered at ARBS 2020. The seminars will run during the ARBS exhibition to be held in Melbourne from May 19–21, 2020. Two seminar programs will run in 2020. The Speaker Series is designed to deliver […]
IBM Research senior research scientist Arun Vishwanath has been named as keynote for the inaugural AIRAH Big Data and Analytics Forum. A specialist in the Internet of Things (IoT), software-defined networking (SDN), energy systems, and renewable energy, Vishwanath will kick off proceedings at the Forum, which will be held in Sydney on August 1. “It’s […]
Buoyed by historic heatwaves in Europe and warmer conditions in the Arctic and Eurasia, June 2019 was the hottest on record. According to data released by NASA and the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), Earth soared to its highest level recorded in June. Records stretch back almost 140 years. “The record warm streaks we’ve seen in […]
Nominations have opened for the ARBS 2020 Industry Awards. The awards recognise excellence in Australia’s HVAC, refrigeration and building services industries across a range of areas. These include: ARBS Young Achiever Award 2020 ARBS Product Excellence Award 2020 ARBS Software/Digital Excellence Award 2020 ARBS Project Excellence Award 2020 ARBS Outstanding Service & Maintenance Award 2020 […]
Darryl K. Boyce, P. Eng., has been named ASHRAE’s President for the 2019–20 term. Previously a treasurer, vice-president and director-at-large on the ASHRAE board of directors, Boyce is the recipient of sundry ASHRAE honours. Boyce announced his theme for the year of his presidency is “Building for People and Performance. Achieving Operational Excellence”. “We must […]
Energy sector stakeholders are being asked to share their thoughts on the risks and opportunities facing market participants as Australia’s energy sector rapidly transforms. They can do this by completing a survey. Dr Sam Button from multidisciplinary consultancy Aurecon is presenting at Australian Energy Week on June 13, discussing how large energy consumers can stay […]
Engineering design group Norman Disney & Young, A Tetra Tech Company (NDY), recently provided pro bono engineering services to support the development of Melbourne City Mission’s (MCM) new youth refuge centre, Frontyard Youth Services. Frontyard provides 24/7 intensive support and crisis accommodation services for homeless and at-risk youth. It is a world-first model that includes […]
Launched at the First Global Conference on Synergies between the 2030 Agenda and Paris Agreement recently held in Copenhagen, the Cool Coalition is a global effort led by major government and private organisations to promote clean and efficient cooling methods. Included in the Cool Coalition are the UN Environment initiative, the Climate and Clean Air […]
The Global Cooling Prize (GCP), a worldwide competition to spur the development of radically more energy-efficient cooling technology, has released its Detailed Technical Application. “We’re very excited to announce that we’ve released the Detailed Technical Application,” say staffers from the Global Cooling Prize. “In this stage of the Prize, applicants must submit comprehensive information about […]
The Kigali Cooling Efficiency program (K-CEP) has announced the Million Cool Roofs Challenge. A US$2 million global competition, the initiative is designed to rapidly scale up the deployment of highly solar-reflective “cool” roofs in developing countries. The Challenge will award US$100,000 grants to up to 10 teams this year to deploy solar reflective coating and/or […]
By Iain Campbell, Senior Fellow at Rocky Mountain Institute and Tony Gleeson, M.AIRAH, CEO of AIRAH. With the hottest summer on record just behind us, climate change is top of mind for many of us here in Australia. Since 1910, our country has warmed over 1°C on average, leading to more extreme heat events, including […]
Davina Rooney will join the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) as the organisation’s new chief executive officer. Rooney replaces Romilly Madew. Boasting a civil engineering background, Rooney was most recently in a senior sustainability position at property group Stockland. “Davina is a well-known and highly respected leader in our sector, and we are delighted […]
The fifth episode of AIRAH on Air, AIRAH’s regular podcast series, explores the HFC phase-down. The phase-down is a worldwide initiative designed to mitigate climate change by reducing hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) – synthetic gases used in air conditioning and refrigeration that can be thousands of times more powerful than carbon dioxide in terms of global warming. […]
Researchers from the University of Wollongong (UOW) are exploring ways to keep building temperatures consistent within a set comfort zone. A collaboration between the university’s SMART Infrastructure Facility, industry and government, the research team is focusing on optimising building HVAC. “The project’s focus is to increase the efficiency of building environments,” says team leader and senior […]
The Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC) has welcomed the federal government’s recent announcement of its additional investment in energy efficiency. ASBEC is particularly impressed with the clear focus on improving the energy and emissions performance of buildings. ASBEC’s modelling has shown that with appropriate support, Australia’s building sector could deliver over a quarter of […]